The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo agreed with the United States the release and exile of 222 Nicaraguan political prisonerswhich the regime had kept in different prisons in the country since 2021, according to a publication by The New York Times, citing senior officials of the Joe Biden Administration.
The release is given by “an agreement negotiated with Washington, marking one of the largest releases of prisoners that the United States has ever involved,” says the prestigious US media, which indicated that the senior officials, with knowledge of the matter, “were not authorized to speak publicly on a sensitive issue.
According to the officials, “the Nicaraguan government did not seek anything in return,” although it “agreed to release the prisoners as a way of signaling a desire to restart relations with the United States.”
However, the Biden Administration informed the US congressmen that the release and exile of political prisoners was a “unilateral decision” by the Nicaraguan government, although it stressed that “we welcome these people to the United States.”
“While we have constantly pressed publicly and privately for the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, the Government of Nicaragua made its own decision to release these political prisoners,” the US government explained.
They will give “emergency support” to political prisoners
The Biden Administration noted that the government “made sure that all people (political prisoners) gave their voluntary consent to travel to the United States.”
“We stand with all the people who enter the United States through the humanitarian parole process,” the communication stressed.
The New York Times published that, according to senior officials, the Biden government offered refuge to a total of 224 political prisoners, but two refused.
According to the newspaper, the US government will provide medical and legal assistance to former prisoners who arrive in Washington, who will then be reunited with their families, many of whom live in the United States and also fled political repression in Nicaragua.
The Government explained that the United States facilitated the transportation and entry into the United States of political prisoners, and will provide them with “emergency support,” which includes medical care, provision of essential items, basic living costs, and psychosocial monitoring.
